Australian teenager Jessica Watson braves turbulent seas, violent storms and months of isolation on her mission to be the youngest person to sail around the world. Based on Watson’s incredible real-life story, True Spirit depicts her extraordinary voyage at age 16. Starring Teagan Croft and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin, True Spirit is written and directed by Sarah Spillane, whose 2013 film Around the Block received critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival. Learn more about True Spirit below.

Release date

True Spirit will be available on Netflix Feb. 3. 

Trailer

Watch the official Netflix trailer for True Spirit below.

Cast

In addition to Croft (Titans, The Osiris Child) and Paquin (The Irishman, The Piano), True Spirit also features Cliff Curtis (Avatar: The Way of Water, Whale Rider) and Josh Lawson (Mortal Kombat, The Little Death). Read this cast guide for more info.

Plot

In October 2009, 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson prepares to circumnavigate the globe in her sailboat in hopes of setting a new world record. Leading up to her voyage, she faces intense media attention and nervous anticipation from her family, which isn’t helped when her boat collides with a cargo ship during a trial run. Nevertheless, she remains focused and, a month later, she sets off from Sydney across the Pacific Ocean. Over the course of 210 days, she encounters dangerous conditions and bouts of loneliness, but perseveres through it all.

Setting

True Spirit starts in Sydney, Australia, and follows Watson’s ocean voyage across the Pacific, past Cape Horn in Chile, onward over the Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, across the Indian Ocean and back around Australia’s southern coast.

Want more?

Watson recounted her journey in her autobiography, also titled True Spirit, on which the film is based.